Redbirds fall to Tucson, but stay in second place in division

The bad news for the Redbirds is that Wednesday night's 4-2 loss to Tucson at AutoZone Park was their fourth defeat in their last five games.

The good news is that they still went into August in second place in the Pacific Coast League's American Northern Division, just 1½ games behind Omaha. Not bad for a team with a disappointing overall record of 53-59.

It's a far cry from what many expected from a team that began the season heralded as one of the most talented in the minors. The Redbirds' roster was comprised of several of the top prospects of the St. Louis Cardinals, who were tabbed by Baseball America as having the top farm system in baseball.

But for whatever reason, despite spending most of the season in first or second place, the Redbirds have been unable to sustain any kind of long winning streaks.

Their longest winning streak has been four games, which they did twice, the last being June 2-4. Their best stretch came in April when they won nine out of 12.

The pitching has been solid for most of the season, but timely hitting hasn't.

"We've got a lot of great talent on this team, guys that can hit," outfielder Justin Christian said.

"When you haven't got guys hitting, it's hard to win. And I'm one of those guys. We're trying to get some guys going, and get myself going as well. The pitching has been pretty good. They've been doing what they need to do."

Against the Padres, the Redbirds left seven runners stranded and were 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position.

They missed out on a chance to add to their 2-1 lead in the sixth when they left runners on first and second.

The Padres wound up tying the game in the eighth before Brandon Allen delivered a two-run homer in the ninth that proved to be the game winner.

The Redbirds finished July with a 13-15 record. In August, they will host Omaha in a five-game series, before going to Iowa, which is close behind in third, for a five-game series.

"There's three of us at the top of our division and it's going to be a dogfight to the end," first baseman Jamie Romak said. "To me, the division is going to be won or lost in those series. That's the most important part.

"When it's a one-game division, it's going to come right down to the end. No one is really separating themselves. We've just got to minimize our mistakes, get some timely hits, and continue to pitch well. We've pitched well enough to win a lot of games."

In other news, the St. Louis Cardinals recalled Redbirds outfielder Adron Chambers and first baseman Brock Peterson. For Peterson, it was his second time being called up in July after making his major league debut July 20. Chambers is headed to St. Louis for the first time this season after spending 59 games with the club over the last two seasons.

The Cardinals optioned pitcher Tyler Lyons to Memphis. Also, outfielder Mike O'Neill was promoted to the Redbirds from Double-A Springfield. In his Redbirds' debut, O'Neill led off and played left field. He was 2-for-4 with a run scored.